Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, May 05, 2020
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FUNDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (METRO) AND THE CITY OF CARSON ACCEPTING MEASURE R FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000,000.00 FOR PROJECT NO. 1606: 223RD STREET WIDENING AND PAVEMENT REHABILITATION (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
Project No. 1606 (formerly known as Project No. 1003): 223rd Street Widening and Pavement Rehabilitation from Wilmington Avenue to the East City limit is listed as the City’s SB-1 project for FY 2019-20 (Exhibit No. 1). This project will be funded by the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) funds authorized by the California Transportation Commission (CTC), otherwise known as SB-1 funds, and Measure R funding authorized by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO). This action focuses on the Measure R funding and the agreement with METRO.
The Measure R funding will be used to fund the construction phase of the 0.2 mile long street widening portion of the project starting at 1,500 feet east of the centerline of Wilmington Avenue going east approximately 1,056 feet in length, while the rest of the improvements such as for pavement rehabilitation, tree removal and replacement, and concrete reconstruction (such as curb, gutter and sidewalks) will be funded using the RMRA Funds.
The METRO Board requires the execution of the Funding Agreement between the City and METRO (Exhibit No. 2) to fund the project.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. APPROVE the Funding Agreement between Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the City of Carson for Project No. 1606: 223rd Street Widening and Pavement Rehabilitation from Wilmington Avenue to the East City limit.
2. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the Funding Agreement between Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the City of Carson following approval as to form by the City Attorney.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1. DO NOT APPROVE the Funding Agreement between METRO and the City of Carson. However, the METRO Board requires execution of the Funding Agreement to continue to fund Project No. 1606: 223rd Street Widening and Pavement Rehabilitation from Wilmington Avenue to the East City limit. Invoices for reimbursement cannot be submitted to METRO until this funding agreement is fully executed. .
2. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
Project No. 1606 (formerly known as Project No. 1003): 223rd Street Widening and Pavement Rehabilitation from Wilmington Avenue to the East City limit is one of the City’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP) projects adopted for FY2019-20. This project is listed as the City’s SB-1 project for FY 2019-20 funded by RMRA funds authorized by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) in the amount of $1,552,527.00. The project will also be partially funded using Measure R funding grant from METRO in the amount of $1,000,000.00 to cover the construction phase of the street widening portion of the project.
223rd Street is a major east-west four lane arterial truck route zoned for heavy and light industrial land uses. The length of this corridor is 0.7 miles, and the project includes concrete reconstruction, tree removal and replacement, and reconstruction of failing asphalt roadway section of the street with a PCI of 26, as recommended in the Pavement Management Study that was completed in 2017. The project also includes street lighting pole relocation, and the widening of the 0.20 mile section of the street starting at 1,500 feet east of centerline of Wilmington Avenue going east approximately 1,056 feet in length along the south side of 223rd Street. Exhibit 3 has four photos that show the bottleneck condition where the street narrows, as well as the condition of the right hand drive lane and the parking area on the side. There is also no existing curb, gutter, or sidewalk on that frontage, and the light poles will also be moved back as part of this project. The City has owned the ROW for many years and no acquisition is necessary.
In September 2018, METRO opened the grant application for Los Angeles County Cities for 2019 Measure R Grant Program. In January 2019, staff submitted the Grant Application to METRO requesting funding in the amount of $5,871,339.00 for Project No. 1606: 223rd Street Widening and Pavement Rehabilitation from Lucerne to Alameda. The amount requested was anticipated to cover the full reconstruction of the street including landscaping with raised landscaped median and irrigation lines as originally planned.
Given the insufficiency of funding available, on August 20, 2019, the City Council awarded a Professional Services Agreement to Willdan Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $36,300.00 to adjust the project limit, reduce the scope of work, and redefine the plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&E) for this project. The adjusted project limit is from Wilmington Avenue to the East City Limit.
In October 2019, METRO verbally informed staff that the City of Carson will be granted approximately $1,000,000.00 of Measure R funds as partial funding of the City’s request. Staff was also informed that the grant funding can be used only for the construction of the street widening section to satisfy the grant requirements.
In December 2019, staff submitted a revised scope of work and a cost estimate of $1,000,000.00 to METRO for the street widening area, in order to finalize the Funding Agreement documents.
On March 31, 2020, the city received the Measure R Funding Agreement documents signed by the METRO Legal Department granting $1,000,000.00 to the City of Carson to fund the construction of the street widening portion of the Project. The City Council is requested to approve this Funding Agreement so it can be fully executed, which will allow the city to get reimbursed by METRO for future expenses.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no impact on the City’s General Fund. This project will have a combined funding of $1,552,527.00 from SB1 RMRA Fund, and $1,000,000.00 from METRO’s Measure R Grant Program.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Location Map. (pg. 4)
2. Measure R Funding Agreement for 223rd Street widening MR312.80, FTIP#: LA 99188.30 (pgs. 5-43)
3. Photos of Widening Area (p. 44)
Prepared by: Rick Boutros, P.E., Associate Civil Engineer